Grand Orient de France: History and Characteristics
The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is a Masonic organization founded under that name in 1773, as a result of the restructuring of the first Grand Lodge of France, established in 1728. It is the oldest of the existing Masonic obediences in continental Europe. As of August 2018, it had approximately 53,000 members distributed across 1,338 lodges worldwide. Its headquarters are located in Paris, at 16 rue Cadet.
Origins and Historical Evolution
Background and Foundation of the Grand Lodge of France
The presence of Freemasonry in France is documented from the early 18th century. An English lodge is documented in Dunkirk in 1721. Around 1725, another lodge was organized in Paris by exiled Jacobites under the leadership of the Earl of Derwentwater. In 1732, a lodge is documented at the Louis d’Argent establishment on Rue des Boucheries in Paris. That same year, the Grand Lodge of London sent its first “deputation” of lodges to France.
The Grand Orient de France dates its foundation to 1733, the year a recognizable Grand Lodge of France began to exist. In 1743, the English Grand Lodge of France had become a French phenomenon, and Louis, Count of Clermont, assumed the office of Grand Master, which he held until 1771.
According to tradition, the Grand Orient de France recognized in 1777 the antiquity of the Lodge of Perfect Equality, supposedly formed in 1688. However, modern scholars consider this claim to be a legend or popular tradition, lacking documentary support.
Creation of the Grand Orient de France (1773)
Following the death of the Count of Clermont in 1771, a schism occurred within the Grand Lodge of France. The majority faction adopted the name Grand Orient de France in 1773, under the leadership of Louis Philippe d’Orléans, Duke of Chartres. The ritual followed was that of the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
The French Revolution
At the time of the French Revolution, there were approximately 1,250 Masonic lodges in France. The Lodge Les Neuf Sœurs, attached to the Grand Orient de France, was particularly influential in supporting the American Revolution (1765-1783) and in the intellectual ferment that preceded the French Revolution of 1789. Benjamin Franklin was a member of this lodge.
Several notable French revolutionaries were Masons, including the Marquis de Lafayette, the Marquis de Condorcet, Mirabeau, Georges Danton, the Duke of Orléans, and Hébert. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France during the revolutionary period.
Historiography has debated the role of Freemasonry in the French Revolution. According to the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, the Masonic book La Franc-Maçonnerie, écrasée (1746) supposedly predicted the revolutionary program, and documents from the Grand Orient de France are cited claiming credit for it. However, the 1967 New Catholic Encyclopedia notes that modern historians consider the role of Freemasonry in the French Revolution to be exaggerated. The 2002 edition of this work contains no article on Freemasonry.
19th Century: Mergers and Conflicts
In 1804, the Grand Orient de France merged with the rival Grand Lodge of the Scottish Rite. During the Second Empire, under Napoleon III, governmental control was established over French Freemasonry. The emperor first appointed Prince Lucien Murat and then Marshal Magnan to oversee the institution and suppress opposition within it.
According to the Marxist author Ernest Belfort Bax, Masons had considerable participation in the Paris Commune, following failed attempts at reconciliation between the conflicting factions.
The Schism of 1877
The most momentous event in the modern history of the Grand Orient de France occurred in 1877. At the instigation of the Protestant pastor Frédéric Desmons, the obedience removed from its constitution the phrase “Freemasonry has as its principle the existence of God and the immortality of the soul,” following in the footsteps of the Grand Orient of Belgium, which had taken a similar decision in 1872.
This decision caused a definitive schism with the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), which considers belief in a Supreme Being to be an essential Masonic Landmark. The measure was not universally accepted even in France: in 1894, many lodges separated from the Grand Orient de France and formed the Grande Loge de France (GLdF).
In 1910, some members of the Grand Orient de France attempted to reintroduce the concept of God as the Great Architect, although complete documentation on the outcome of this initiative is not available.
21st Century: Admission of Women
Until the 21st century, the Grand Orient de France did not accept women into its lodges. In September 2010, during the Convention of Lodges held in Vichy, delegates from 1,200 lodges ratified the interpretation of its regulations that excludes any discrimination based on gender. Since then, all lodges of the Grand Orient de France may initiate both women and men who meet the established requirements.
Doctrinal Characteristics
The Grand Orient de France is considered the world’s main reference point for liberal or adogmatic Freemasonry. It defines itself with a Europeanist and humanist character, based on Enlightenment philosophy and the principles of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
The obedience defends the principle of absolute freedom of conscience, meaning that its members may be believers, agnostics, or atheists. It attaches fundamental importance to secularism (laïcité), understood as the independence of religions from the State. Likewise, it defends republican and social values, conceiving social transformation as a Masonic objective.
Internal Organization
The Grand Orient de France is structured as a democracy based on the separation of powers. Lodges are grouped into 17 regions, managed through Regional Congresses. Each lodge is represented by a delegate at the congresses and at the annual Convent, which constitutes the general assembly of the obedience.
The Council of the Order exercises executive power and elects its president, titled Grand Master. The obedience regulates the rites born within it, especially the French Rite.
Regarding the requirements for the constitution of lodges, since 2009, a minimum of 14 Master Masons per lodge is required, and 21 if the obedience already has a presence in the locality.
Relations with Other Obediences
The Grand Orient de France recognizes the full regularity of female initiation and maintains fraternal relations with mixed and female obediences. The 1877 decision to remove the deist clause caused a historical schism with the United Grand Lodge of England and with the entirety of so-called “regular” Freemasonry, which maintains belief in a Supreme Being as an indispensable requirement.
Context and Significance
The Grand Orient de France represents one of the two great currents of world Freemasonry: the liberal or adogmatic tradition, as opposed to the regular Anglo-Saxon current. Its historical evolution reflects the tensions between initiatic tradition and Enlightenment principles, between religious belief and freedom of conscience, and between Masonic autonomy and state control. Its 1877 decision marked a turning point in the history of continental Freemasonry, and its opening to women in 2010 places it at the forefront of contemporary debates on gender equality in initiatic institutions. As the oldest Masonic obedience in continental Europe, its trajectory constitutes a testament to the evolution of Freemasonry from the Ancien Régime to contemporary society.